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COPD and Other Stuff This is a patient-to-patient blog to exchange information and resources…from COPD to Arthritis to Cellulites to Sarcoidosis to Sleep Apnea to RLS to Psoriasis to Support Groups to Caregivers and all points in between.

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Googling for COPD Finds an Old Letter

I wrote the following about 2004 for the American Lung
Association and re-found it goggling for COPD. I’m posting it
here in hope you will see the value in early detection Spirometry
testing.

“Hungry for Air: Breathing Better Together

“Living with COPD/Emphysema and Sarcoidosis was a living death.
I existed. I struggled to breathe, when I moved I panted, gasped
for air like a fish out of water.

As I slowly showered and dressed, ready to go somewhere, I
couldn’t sit down to rest. I fell asleep.

I went from a physically active life landscaping, restoring a
wonderful property in Port Townsend to a blob who existed in front
of her computer.

I searched the world web to discover what COPD/Emphysema was –
what Sarcoidosis was, everything, anything I could find out about
my diseases and the medications I took.

I couldn’t sleep in a bed – I couldn’t breathe – I dozed sitting
in a chair.

By the time I arrived at the Pulmonary Department at the
University of Washington Medical Center, I believed my days were
numbered. Previously diagnosed with COPD/Emphysema, an open lung
biopsy showed the fibrosis and granulomas of Sarcoidosis evenly
throughout both lungs.

Without energy, I felt isolated, without a purpose, a shell, a
mockery of the person I used to be.

I regretted a 40-year smoking habit, but didn’t dwell on it. The
single most difficult thing I’ve ever done is stop smoking. I
craved cigarettes and for the first time understood a drug addict’s
‘craving’ for a drug. I craved a cigarette many times a day, then
almost daily for more than two years. Even today, occasionally the
urge to smoke a cigarette becomes almost overwhelming.

That is how I felt then. Today I’m energized with purpose.

I found a support group online – the non-profit EFFORTS, begun
by COPD’rs, run by COPD’rs and filled with folks like me working to
change the world’s awareness of COPD. I want other lung folks to
know they are not alone and how they can lead the best quality of
life possible.

I want to see Spirometry tests for patients. common place among
physicians – to catch COPD early – before it is too late. Other
than stop smoking, the single most important thing Lungers can do
for themselves is exercise.

And from the time I learned of the American Lung Association® of
Washington’s Big Ride Across America, it is my dream – my goal.” –
Sharon”

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About This Blog

This is a patient to patient blog to exchange information and resources...from COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) to Arthritis to Cellulites to Sarcoidosis to Sleep Apnea to RLS to Psoriasis to Support Groups to Caregivers and all points in between. Written by Sharon O'Hara.